


flos, non verba

by seokdangerous



Series: boys (and their feelings) over flowers [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-19 20:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20663399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seokdangerous/pseuds/seokdangerous
Summary: Kim Jongdae’s 5th year sees him tackling new prefectorial responsibilities, alongside the dreaded O.W.L.s. The last thing the Hufflepuff needs is a distraction...So why does he find himself spending his Thursday afternoons tutoring Zhang Yixing? The same Zhang Yixing who can’t pass up an opportunity to tease him? The same 6th year Slytherin he can’t help but hate?





	flos, non verba

**Author's Note:**

> This work was written for the Xingdae Fic Fest (Round 1) organized by Xingdae Café.
> 
> Based on prompt #19014.
> 
> Dear prompter, thank you for sending in such a cute prompt! I initially toyed uncertainly with the idea of joining the fic fest but I couldn't pass up this prompt in the end ^^; I hope it's to your liking! ♡♡
> 
> I'd just like to add on a huge thank you to Mod K for organising this Xingdae Fic Fest and also for being so patient with the green-nosed me ;w; Let's continue to spread the xingdae love in future rounds of this fic fest! ♡♡

“And with that, I’ll be expecting that this assignment reflects your mindset towards the rest of the school year. If you don’t start now, don’t expect favourable grades when it comes to your O.W.L.s. Class dismissed.”

Chairs simultaneously creaked against the cobbled classroom floor, masking the light chatter amongst students as they tidy away their writing utensils from their shared desks. One student, seated in the middle, sighs as he scans through the essay guidelines he had hurriedly scribbled down on a wrinkled piece of parchment.

“Argh, I can’t believe Professor Choi assigned us three rolls of parchment on ghouls,” Baekhyun bemoans, stuffing his ink bottle and writing feather into his satchel. “The injustice of it all, I’m telling you!”

Several students in the classroom murmur their agreement; it’s only the first week into the semester and Professor Choi already sees it fit to pile on lengthy assignments. Certainly, any relaxed mood carried over from the semester break had been thoroughly squashed.

“Baek, I’ll be waiting in the corridor,” Jongdae calls out, his books and stationery already tidied up and packed away.

Baekhyun hoists his satchel higher on his hips. He fidgets with his fringe, patting it down before striding off, cocking a quick nod to the remaining classmates. He finds Jongdae waiting patiently several metres from the classroom, the latter long accustomed to Baekhyun’s after-class dawdling.

Jongdae is preoccupied with his hair, shyly flattening the flyaway strands atop his head. Rather than being vain about it, he’s actually self-conscious. Unlike his best friends, Jongdae has only dyed his hair once. While it isn’t as flashy as the colours Baekhyun or Chanyeol has plumped for this round, choosing a honey blond for his maiden dye colour is bold for his standards.

So preoccupied he is with his hair, that Jongdae fails to sense the rough arm thrown around his shoulder as Baekhyun pulls him into a hug from behind. Jongdae yelps when Baekhyun chatters playfully into his ear and he rewards the other boy with a flick on the forehead.

“Goooosh, I’m starving!” In true Byun Baekhyun fashion, Baekhyun persists in whining into Jongdae’s ear, despite getting lightly punished for it earlier. “Hey, Dae, we still meeting Chan for lunch? Where did we agree on again? The Great Hall or the Courtyard?”

“Chanyeol can’t. He’s busy with a Quidditch meeting,” Jongdae says. “But he said he’ll be joining us for dinner later.”

“Tsk, that dumb jock.” Baekhyun’s nose crinkles, but Jongdae knows that Baekhyun says it in jest. “Already too busy for us peasants, I see.”

Chanyeol had been scouted at the end of last year for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The Gryffindor Captain offered him a spot in the team if Chanyeol was willing to work on his fitness. Never one to back down from a challenge, Chanyeol spent the holidays doing strength-conditioning exercises and endurance drills prescribed by the captain. He probably exercised more intensely in those few months than Jongdae ever has collectively in his entire life, period.

“Oh yes, Mr. Lead Singer in the school choir, a real peasant indeed,” Jongdae shoots back, stony-faced. “And how many letters did Kyoong deliver during today’s breakfast? How many adoring fans professed their love to the great Byun Baekhyun today?”

“Shut up.” Baekhyun shoves Jongdae’s shoulder playfully, earning a cheeky laugh from the Hufflepuff. “You’re one to talk, Mr. Top Student in his Hufflepuff class. If I hear another classmate asking me why you weren’t sorted into Ravenclaw, I’m going to throw my Chocolate Frog at them. For the love of Aphrodite, do I look like the Sorting Hat to them-”

Jongdae’s loud laughter peals through Baekhyun’s speech, and the Slytherin joins in as well, both of them laughing at the ridiculousness.

“I’m serious, Dae. I don’t know how hanging out with me and Chan hasn’t dropped your intelligence one bit, ” Baekhyun says, after both their laughter have subsided. His eyes are cheery, still crinkled from laughter, but twinkle with sincerity.

“My brain and I manage just fine around the both of you.” Jongdae smiles, his lips curling up to form his signature Cheshire grin. “I appreciate your concern, though.”

“Ah, that modesty, so becoming of a Hufflepuff. Definitely the best choice for the house prefect this year.”

Jongdae feels his cheeks warming up at Baekhyun’s words. Sometimes, it feels like every other sentence from his best friend is a compliment. Chanyeol too showers praise liberally, so coupled with Baekhyun’s flattery, Jongdae can feel a bit overwhelmed at times from his friends’ support. But what with the hectic school year that lies ahead, perhaps this is exactly what he needs.

And the last thing that Jongdae needs is a distraction.

-

"No." Jongdae doesn’t have to think twice.

“No?” Junmyeon parrots back the word, and Jongdae can’t help but sigh.

“No, I don’t want to tutor Zhang in Ancient Runes,” Jongdae says with what he hopes is a tone of finality.

When Junmyeon had pulled Jongdae aside after their weekly Prefectorial briefing with Discipline Mistress Kwon, the latter had assumed that the senior Hufflepuff prefect wanted to discuss the evening patrol routes. But he never expected this. Personally tutoring Zhang Yixing in Ancient Runes?

"Yixing told me that he was looking for help in revising his Ancient Runes studies and I told him you'd be the perfect tutor!" Junmyeon had told him excitedly, eyes wide and bright. "So why don't you try it out?"

Merlin’s beard, could Jongdae ever escape Zhang Yixing?

Anyway, why did Zhang have to rope in Jongdae’s own cousin and make Junmyeon play the messenger? Was he too high and mighty to approach Jongdae himself? Urgh, just thinking about him made Jongdae’s forehead ache.

Jongdae unconsciously hastens his pace, the thought of the Slytherin sixth-year irritating him to no end. Junmyeon flounders momentarily at Jongdae’s sudden acceleration and hurriedly widens his strides to keep in step with him.

The pair stay silent for a few minutes, as they make their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. From the corner of his eye, Jongdae can spot Junmyeon chewing absently on his bottom lip. Jongdae sighs internally; he can tell Junmyeon isn’t going to let go of this easily.

“Junmyeon-hyung,” Jongdae speaks up, earning Junmyeon’s attention. “Come here with me a bit.”

Tugging on Junmyeon’s sleeves, Jongdae guides him to one of the pillars facing the courtyard. It’s not the best place to have a conversation, with their fellow students milling past them into the Great Hall but in this moment, it’ll do. Jongdae doesn’t have any intention to talk for long anyway.

“Junmyeon-hyung, I don’t know what made you think it’s a good idea but I’m not going to tutor Zhang in Ancient Runes. Nothing you say is going to change my mind.”

Junmyeon blinks, absorbing Jongdae’s words silently. Jongdae almost feels guilty, almost, for refusing his request. It's not Junmyeon's fault per se, but Jongdae still can't comprehend how Junmyeon thinks he can stand being in close proximity with Yixing for a prolonged period of time.

"I-Is it because he's from Slytherin?" Junmyeon’s bright eyes are shining with curiosity, when Jongdae offers no explanation.

"Junmyeon-hyung, one of my best friends is from Slytherin so it's illogical to pull the house card on me," Jongdae counters coolly. “If I had something against Slytherins, I would have casted Baekhyun aside the moment the Sorting Hat decided he belonged there.”

"Well,” Junmyeon perked up. "Following that logic, you should be okay with tutoring Yixing, right-"

"No."

"I didn't know I was asking so much from you, Jongdae… Do you really hate Yixing that much?" Junmyeon asks, the creases in his forehead now settling deeply.

"No, you're not, hyung.” Jongdae shifts uncomfortably from his stance against the stone pillar.

Hate. Jongdae processes the insinuation behind the word. Rolling it around unspoken in his mouth, it weighs heavily like lead on his tongue.

“Hate is a strong word, Junmyeon-hyung. And it's not that I dislike him," Jongdae says slowly, hesitantly.

"Then… does he make you uncomfortable?" Junmyeon frowns, his eyebrows furrowed in worry. "If that's the case, I won't-"

"He doesn't," Jongdae sighs, defeated. "He hasn't done anything to me, hyung."

Junmyeon doesn't get it; hey, Jongdae himself doesn't. "I just... Our last encounter ended on a bad note, okay? Nothing more than that. I don't hate the guy. Honest!"

“I just, I just hope you’ll reconsider, Jongdae,” Junmyeon says. “After I recommended you, Yixing was so insistent in wanting you as his tutor. He's a good guy, he really is! If you’d just give him a chance!"

One bad trait about Jongdae is that he isn’t very good at saying no, much less to his own cousin.

So guess who's going to be spending his Thursdays afternoons at the library with Zhang Yixing?

-

Wednesdays are supposed to be a hump day of sorts, right? The midpoint in the school week where things get better, right? Well, not for one Kim Jongdae. He’s stuck in an arrangement with a sixth-year Slytherin that he can’t stand for the whole semester.

He almost wants to say that Junmyeon guilted him into accepting this tutoring assignment, but he knows that his cousin only has the kindest of intentions. Jongdae knows that he should really be directing his anger at Zhang Yixing, who managed to con Junmyeon (and Jongdae in the process).

Jongdae’s dour mood is palpable, in his actions more so than his expression, as he plonks his heavy body down next to his two best friends in the courtyard. Baekhyun and Chanyeol, who had earlier been chatting animatedly about their plans for the first village visit of the year, take note of the slump in Jongdae’s posture and scoot closer to him.

Chanyeol rolls over onto his stomach and inches over to rest his head on Jongdae’s lap, whilst Baekhyun slings an arm around Jongdae’s shoulder, before giving a comforting squeeze. They sit in silence, wholly uncharacteristic for the trio.

Baekhyun’s lips start to itch, and he chews absentmindedly on his bottom lip as he tries to think of something, anything, to lighten the mood. His eyes fall upon the thick tome spilling out of Jongdae’s unclasped satchel and he acts on his curiosity, pulling the book out.

_Advanced Rune Translation_ by Yuri Blishen, Baekhyun reads the cover silently. Oh. Now, it makes sense to him.

He waves the textbook with slight difficulty in front of Jongdae’s face, knowing exactly the reason behind the latter’s mood. The Hufflepuff stares back passively, but his hand has stilled in the midst of patting Chanyeol’s freshly-dyed red hair. Chanyeol raises his head from its resting place, intrigued by the pause in Jongdae’s action. He sees the tense looks that the other two are currently exchanging, and figures out it makes the most sense to stay out of it. He settles on burying his face further into Jongdae’s stomach, the only form of escape he could manage in this moment.

"I can't-,” Baekhyun starts, before pausing to lick his lips, head quickly choosing his next words. “-believe I'm saying this to you, but would you stop being such a drama queen? It's only a simple tutoring session-"

"Many tutoring sessions, mind you," Jongdae grinds out, glaring at Baekhyun over the frame of his tortoiseshell glasses. "Spread weekly over a semester, where I have to see his face-"

"Alright, _many_ tutoring sessions," Baekhyun rolls his eyes at Jongdae's correction. "And like I said, drama queen, much?"

Jongdae shifts in his spot on the grass, jerking away from Baekhyun’s arm around his shoulder. Chanyeol too gets displaced, and he sits up quickly, not liking the turn in their conversation.

“I can’t believe you’re accusing me of being a drama queen,” Jongdae almost sneers, mirroring Baekhyun’s expression. “You know how much I dislike the guy.”

“Other than that one particular incident, which I still don’t understand why you’re so hung up over, really… Yixing-hyung is a normal guy. Decent as a Slytherin can get. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that you hate him.”

“Whatever,” Jongdae says dismissively, refusing to answer Baekhyun.

“But Jongdae, do you really hate him?” Chanyeol finally speaks up, tilting his head curiously like an overgrown puppy.

It’s the second time this week that Jongdae gets addressed this question. Again, he can’t seem to find the answer. Honest to Merlin, Jongdae doesn’t hate him; he swears on his prefect badge.

"Just forget it. You won't understand." Jongdae settles for ambiguity.

“We won’t understand, or you won’t let us understand, Jongdae?”

Because Jongdae himself doesn't understand, if he's being honest with himself.

He just hasn’t time for this, doesn’t have time to deal with unwelcome distractions.

Especially if they come in the form of a smug sixth-year Slytherin who’s spent the whole of last year teasing him in their every single encounter together.

-

It’s Thursday afternoon and Jongdae finds himself waiting several steps in front of the school library’s entrance, far enough to not block the entrance entirely. He clutches the Ancient Runes textbook tightly, appreciating the steady weight that it provided against his pounding chest. Jongdae almost feels like a fool, having whined nonstop yet here he is, early for this arrangement.

Brisk footwork echoes from the stairwell, and Jongdae tightens his grip on the book, instinctively knowing who it’s going to be. Zhang Yixing appears at the base of the stairwell, the sleeves of his black robes flashing glimpses of emerald with every stride he takes. There's nary a strand out of place, but he runs a quick tease through his hair anyway, pushing the lightly curling fringe away from his high forehead. Of course, the insignia of the Slytherin house stitched on his robes is anything but unassuming, much like Yixing himself.

“Ah, Kim.” Yixing smiles, as he approaches Jongdae. “I finally get to see you.”

_Only because you conned both Junmyeon-hyung and I_, Jongdae thinks. He settles for what he hopes is a convincing, cordial smile.

“Zhang.”

Yixing stalks towards him and Jongdae can barely contain his flinch. It's almost as if Yixing's a predator cornering his prey, especially since the Slytherin has several centimetres over him.

Yixing gives Jongdae an obvious once-over, before his jet black eyes focus onto the gleaming prefect badge pinned prominently on Jongdae’s robes. “I heard from Junmyeon that you’ve been elected prefect. As expected from you, Kim. A congratulations is in order.”

Jongdae shifts twitchily on the spot, feeling small under not only Yixing’s unrelenting gaze, but Yixing’s presence itself.

“Thank you.” He pats himself on the back internally for not choking on his words.

“And the hair.” Yixing’s eyes flick back onto Jongdae’s blond hair. “To celebrate becoming a prefect?”

“Y-yeah, I guess.” Jongdae’s hand immediately goes to play at the ends of his hair. Yixing’s guess isn’t exactly right, but it isn’t exactly wrong either.

“Well.” Yixing pushes away his sleeves and steals a glance at his wristwatch. “We have two hours together, so let’s not waste any time. Shall we?”

Jongdae blinks silently, surprised that Yixing hasn’t made any mention to what happened between them slightly before semester break. Honestly though, it’s for the best, as Jongdae still can’t forget the glare that Yixing had directed at him that evening. Immediately, Jongdae flinches again, over the memory alone. If Yixing isn’t going to breach the topic, Jongdae isn’t going to either.

“You first, Kim.”

Yixing pulls onto the entrance door’s handle, gesturing for Jongdae to head in first. Jongdae clamps down on his lips and nods rigidly, not trusting his mouth at the moment. Two hours with Yixing. He’ll get through this. He knows all the breathing techniques that Nurse Sunkyu taught him when he had a near breakdown last year...but hopefully he wouldn’t have to resort to that.

They find a relatively undisturbed spot at the far end of the library, just a few shelves away from the Restricted section. Yixing slings his leather satchel around his chair and starts busying himself with rummaging through the bag for his writing utensils. On his left, Jongdae sits almost ramrod straight in his chair, his Ancient Runes textbook (and his own form of protection) laid in front of him on the oak wood desk. His eyes are boring onto the cover’s embroidered lettering, the glittering words proving to be a more comfortable sight than his companion.

“Kim.” Yixing speaks on his right, instinctively forcing Jongdae to peel his eyes away from his book.

“Y-yes!” So much for not stuttering. “I mean, yes.”

Yixing has the audacity to laugh at Jongdae’s jumpiness. The Slytherin quickly covers his grin with his hand upon noticing the heated glare directed at him.

“Hey, no need to be so jumpy around me-”

“Let’s just get started already,” Jongdae says briskly and looks away, uncaring that his pink-hued cheeks are giving away his emotional state. Jongdae is the tutor, not Yixing, and he is not going to let the sixth year control their tutoring sessions any more than he has already.

To his credit, Yixing says nothing and instead gathers several pieces of parchment in his hands and pushes them towards Jongdae, presumably the sixth-year’s translation homework.

“I need your help with my translations, Kim.” Yixing explains, gesturing towards the parchment papers. “It’s only the first week, so Professor Kang’s making us do revision from last year. It’s just that-”

“Just that you’re rusty after the holidays?” Jongdae prompts, and Yixing hums in agreement. “Okay, I’ll take a look at them.”

Jongdae adjusts his glasses, securing them firmly on his nose bridge, before starting on the first parchment. His eyes process the slanting script, mind running through to associate the correct translations for the different symbols. After the first readover, he picks up a quill and starts to circle the incorrect translations, marking the correct ones on the side. For a few minutes, only scratches from Jongdae’s busy quill punctuate the quiet atmosphere. Yixing himself settles with peeking over Jongdae’s hunched shoulder, watching as the Hufflepuff easily deciphers rune markings that have yet to be covered in the fifth year’s syllabus.

"And I don't understand why you can't consult someone in your own year?" Jongdae finds his voice again. It’s easier to talk back to Yixing, if they’re not maintaining eye contact. “I can’t imagine myself getting a fourth year to look through my own assignments.”

"Oh, Kim.” Jongdae hears the chair creak slightly under the shift in weight; Yixing had leaned back in his chair. “Unless your cousin Junmyeon has been talking you up too much, you ought to find my acknowledgement of your abilities flattering. Are you saying you want to prove him wrong, Kim?"

In this moment, Jongdae would rather tell him where to stick his writing instrument. Even on an arrangement, Yixing is just as insufferable as ever. Always, always wanting to tease Jongdae and driving him to the state of being agitated, flustered, and speechless all at once.

Jongdae pointedly ignores Yixing and carries on proofreading his rune translations. Yixing’s translations are slightly messy, with dapples of ink stains dotted all over the curiously faded parchments. There are several mistakes in his translations, but they are common mistakes more than anything. Yixing at least had the decency to attempt every single translation and didn’t leave it for Jongdae to fill in the blanks for the rest.

When he’s completed all the rolls of parchment, Jongdae pushes them back in front of Yixing.

“Just read through my corrections and ask if there’s a translation that doesn’t make sense to you. We can look it up in the textbook.”

Yixing takes his own quill and hovers the tip over the writings as he reads through the translation with Jongdae’s corrections. The Slytherin does look up from the parchment from time to time to highlight a rune translation that he doesn’t understand. Jongdae then browses through the textbook for its corresponding page and Jongdae points out the subtleties behind the rune symbol. They spend the next hour doing this and though it’s somewhat mundane, Yixing manages to stay on-task.

In the back of Jongdae’s mind, he supposes that he’s grateful that Yixing isn’t exactly wasting his time with this arrangement. (Of course, he’s still not over the fact that he had been conned into this.) It hasn’t been a very interactive tutoring session so far but Yixing too hasn’t given him too much material on work on.

Yixing works through two full papers of translations before he pushes them away.

“Hey, let’s take a break, Kim,” Yixing says, placing his quill back into its ink bottle. “My palm’s gotten smudged from the ink and all the symbols are starting to look the same to me.”

“Okay, sure,” Jongdae easily relents; he had slowly grown fidgety over overseeing Yixing reading though his corrected translations. “How about ten minutes? I wanted to check whether the library stocks any volume of _Chadwick’s Charms_. I’ll be right back.”

Yixing shrugs in acknowledgement and wordlessly reclines in his seat. Jongdae had been expecting the Slytherin to make use of the opening to tease him and call him a nerd, but Yixing doesn’t bite. Rather, Yixing is more preoccupied with their break, staring out of the window and onto the courtyard.

Jongdae excuses himself, and walks briskly towards the Reference section. Ever since his cousin had returned from a semester on exchange at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he’s been meaning to look up the seven-volume series that the students there used in their curriculum. Yes, you could call Jongdae a nerd, but Jongdae simply wanted to uncover whether they were learning the same things or not.

It doesn’t take long for him to find the bookshelf of interest, as Jongdae is very much accustomed to the library’s layout. Finger tracing across the various book spines, he soon spots Volume 1 of the series.

Book finally secured, Jongdae heads back towards his shared workplace with Yixing. His bright expression slowly dissolves into a confused frown, when his eyes land on a gaggle of girls crowding around a particular writing desk, just several shelves shy of his own desk.

Jongdae sighs. He supposes that this is part of his duty as a prefect: dispersing a group of girls who clearly should not be congregating like this in the library. He hopes that the girls are receptive to his directions and that he doesn’t have to resort to docking any points from their houses. He disagrees with that aspect of prefectorial duty, finding it just plain wrong to have that kind of authority over other students.

Shaking away some of the stiffness for his shoulders, Jongdae nervously straightens the prefect pin on his uniform and clears his throat. He can only hope that his mouth isn’t as traitorous to him in front of this group, as it has been to him with Yixing earlier.

“Uh, hey, excuse me,” Jongdae says plainly, before clearing his throat once more. “Can I please, can I please know the reason behind this gathering?”

The giggling abruptly dies down and all eyes turn towards Jongdae, who is frankly surprised that they had heeded his instructions so quickly. The girls are blinking back at him and Jongdae finds that his traitorous mouth has suddenly become dry. His prefect training had never prepared him for any encounters like this; he wishes he had a Decoy Detonator on him so he could just escape, prefectorial duties aside.

“Oh, aren’t you the new Hufflepuff prefect?”

A Gryffindor student is the first to speak up, her gaze alternating between Jongdae’s face and the prefect badge pinned onto his uniform. The girls start sharing hushed whispers between themselves. Jongdae can only hope that they’re saying good things about him.

“Uh.” Jongdae says eloquently, nervously wetting his bottom lip with a quick swipe of his tongue. “Yes? I am-”

“Hey, Kim. What’s going on?”

Jongdae senses someone behind him, and turns to find Yixing, hand propped casually against the bookshelf, wearing a perturbed expression.

“You were taking too long, that I thought you left, you know.” Yixing shrugs, sending him a wry smile as if he had expected that of Jongdae. The smirk he’s wearing is just so infuriating, that Jongdae almost forgets the situation on hand.

“No way!” Another girl pipes up, disrupting Yixing’s exchange with Jongdae. “You’re Zhang Yixing!”

The girls now shift their attention to Yixing and the crowd only grows noisier, excitement radiating visibly. Jongdae swears he hears someone conceal a squeal; he doesn’t know anymore. He just wants today to be over already. Dealing with Yixing AND a gaggle of overly enthusiastic girls, all in one day? Maybe he really will do that breathing exercise back in his common room.

“Hey.” Yixing is utterly nonplussed at their behaviour. Of course, he’s used to this kind of attention; his family background had practically guaranteed him a red carpet’s welcome once he stepped into school. “What’s up?”

The girls start inching forward, closer towards Jongdae and Yixing; Jongdae shuffles back warily while Yixing simply stands his ground, still resting casually against the bookshelf.

However, with this, the girls start to clear away from the initial source of the commotion. Jongdae immediately seizes the chance, going on his tiptoes and craning his neck to see above the girls.

A hunched figure is sprawled over an overly large tome, with several other books spread haphazardly around them like a fairy mushroom ring. A faded grey sweater is slung across its wearer’s broad shoulders, providing a stark contrast against the wearer’s distinctive bubblegum pink hair.

“Excuse me.” Jongdae has found his voice again, and this time, his tone is nothing short of steely, taking everyone, even Yixing, by surprise.

The girls hurriedly part, sharing concerned looks and whispers over Jongdae’s sudden shift in demeanour. Jongdae pays them no attention and stops in front of the sleeping figure, overlooking them with an utterly blank face.

Wordlessly, Jongdae reaches out and shakes the shoulder of the sleeping student. It takes several attempts before the student starts to stir. He shakes his head blearily, clearing away the dregs of sleep.

“Damn…” Baekhyun mumbles weakly. “Did I really just fall asleep?”

A shadow looms over his sleepy figure and Baekhyun finally has the mind to look up. His eyes start from the hand clapped onto his shoulder, travel along the extended arm, before his gaze finally rests on Jongdae’s placid (read: not at all) expression. Baekhyun immediately sits up in his seat, all traces of drowsiness immediately dissipating.

“Well. What do you think?”

"Morning, Sunshine," Yixing speaks up from his position against the bookshelf. "I don't suppose you covered much reading on…" He cranes his neck to peek at the book half-covered by Baekhyun's crossed forearms. "..._Hogwarts, A History_.”

“Now, if you would all excuse me again.” Jongdae’s voice retains his steeliness. “I would like to bring Mr. Byun over here to the librarian to apologise for creating trouble.”

Jongdae yanks on Baekhyun’s collar and hoists the fifth-year Slytherin to his feet. Baekhyun has the decency to look ashamed, hanging his head like a puppy who’s been caught eating his dinner treats without permission. He knows that if his best friend refers to him by his surname, he’s really blown it this time.

“Zhang, I suppose you don’t mind?”

“Not at all, Kim. It’s prefect duty and all, isn’t it?” Yixing shrugs. “I’ll see you next week. And Baekhyun, I’ll see you back in the common room. In one piece, I hope.”

“Bye, Yixing-hyung!” Baekhyun, best friend and traitor rolled into one, manages a last-gasp greeting as Jongdae drags him away with a tight grip on his forearm.

-

The goods news is that Madam Seo didn’t ban either Jongdae or Baekhyun from the library. She had maintained such a stoic expression whilst listening to Jongdae’s report, that both Jongdae and Baekhyun had been utterly convinced that they were going to be punished. To both their surprise, Madam Seo actually smiled and told them both that since no damage whatsoever had been done to library property, it wasn’t a punishable offence.

“Wow, maybe the tea dregs you got in class were right,” Chanyeol says thoughtfully, in the middle of his spoonful of stew. “You really did experience an ‘_unexpected escape_’.”

“Well, if only it could be extended to me escaping Zhang… only then I’ll thank the cosmic powers,” Jongdae sighs. “I made a fool of myself today in front of him and he’s only going to tease me more.”

This afternoon’s incident had only provided Yixing with further ammo to tease Jongdae and the Hufflepuff could imagine several ways that Yixing could use it against him, all of them leading to Jongdae extremely red-faced.

“I’m sorry, Jongdae,” Baekhyun says for probably the tenth time that day, his tone contrite. “I just didn’t want to leave you alone with Yixing-hyung when I know he makes you feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

Despite his anger over Baekhyun earlier this afternoon, Jongdae can only smile at the former’s admission. Baekhyun could have been a snoop and use an Extendable Ear against him (he knows the Slytherin had used one before to spy on his own cousin). However, Baekhyun had waited at the library empty-handed and had even innocuously fallen asleep at the desk.

“It’s okay, Baek,” Jongdae finds himself consoling his best friend. “Nothing happened, but I appreciate how much you were worried about me.”

“Like what Dae said, don’t worry about it, Baek,” Chanyeol says supportively, his words garbled around his last mouthful of stew. “Jongdae’s okay and you know it’s okay so that’s that!”

Baekhyun finally cracks a smile. His tense shoulders, which he had held together unconsciously, start to relax as the pair’s words melted away his guilt.

“Thanks, guys. I couldn’t help it...but I should have known better. I’m in the same house as Yixing-hyung and he’s harmless. I mean, his own pet cat, he calls it ‘cat’, for Merlin’s sake!”

Jongdae clamps down on his bottom lip instinctively, willing himself to not smile at that anecdote. No, he is not going to smile at that and no, he absolutely did not find Zhang Yixing cute for doing that.

-

Jongdae had rushed over after third period, after being held back by Professor Liu to discuss his Charms essay. To his immense relief, Professor Liu had only wanted to commend Jongdae for his inclusion on material from the Ilvermorny curriculum. Jongdae thus made a mental note to continue his reading across the different volumes throughout the semester.

It’s only week two but Jongdae’s satchel is starting to strain at the seams, with its heavy weight on his left shoulder reminding Jongdae of the pressures of O.W.L.s year. In spite of them, Jongdae is light on his feet, still floating on the high of his Professor’s praise.

He makes his way down the stairwell, legs practically flying in between steps. All the patrolling Jongdae’s been doing for his prefectorial duty has geared him into taking quick, light steps everywhere he goes. Jongdae reaches the foot of the stairwell and he’s surprised to find Yixing already there, leaning casually against the library’s front doors.

“Hey, Kim.” Yixing straightens up and offers Jongdae a casual smile, rather than the smarmy smirk that the Slytherin normally greets him with. "Good afternoon."

“Good afternoon, Zhang.” Jongdae greets back, his lips twitching instinctively and mirroring Yixing's. There’s no use in wasting his good mood today, not even on Yixing.

Yixing reaches out to pull open the entrance door for Jongdae, as per last week, and they both make their way inside. The sixth-year drops his pace and remains half a step behind Jongdae.

"So, are we going to stick to the same spot as last week?" Yixing questions. "I didn't know what you wanted and I didn't know whether it was going to be busy inside, so I thought I should just wait for you outside."

Jongdae immediately chuckles at Yixing's innocuous question; someone obviously hasn't been using the library often, if ever.

"You talk as if you've never used the library before this. Why, too used to having a private library?"

"So? What's it to you?" While Yixing tries to keep his tone neutral, his reply comes too quickly. Jongdae can't help but snicker again. It’s almost absurd to hear of people in this age to view the act of visiting a public-access library as such a foreign experience.

“Nothing...” Jongdae's in a good mood and is feeling magnanimous even, so he won't tease Yixing so much. “But I think the spot last week was good so we can just use it again. If we’re going to keep using that spot, it’ll become our usual spot anyway. What do you think, Zhang?”

“Zhang?” Jongdae prompts Yixing again, when Yixing doesn’t respond.

“...Yeah, cool. Our usual spot, huh?” Yixing says after a beat, his voice sounding distant, almost distracted.

The next two hours go similarly to last week’s, but Jongdae would say that Yixing is more...participative? Rather than simply letting Jongdae scan through the runes translation by himself, Yixing makes a conscious effort to talk about context behind the class topic. The sixth years are currently covering runes that were found by Cursebreakers in the Great Pyramid of Giza and Yixing is currently recounting in great detail about the various chambers of the pyramid.

Jongdae nods along quietly, listening to Yixing’s words as he scans through the translations. As they’re in the library, Yixing keeps his voice close to a low whisper, and over time, Jongdae finds himself unconsciously shifting closer to catch Yixing’s words better. In the comparison to Baekhyun, whose pitch ascends steadily with his excitement, and his younger brother, Jongin, who seldom speaks above a rumbly mumble, Jongdae finds that Yixing’s cadence falls in the middle of the spectrum.

He’s just finished the second paper and he looks up, taking a quick reprieve to rest his tired eyes. Turning to the right, he finds Yixing facing him, though the Slytherin’s eyes are oddly glazed over. Yixing has his head propped on an upturned palm, while his free hand is lazily twirling a dry writing quill, scraping lightly at the hardwood desk.

“Zhang?” Jongdae asks, blinking confusedly at Yixing who has fallen silent. When exactly did Yixing stop talking again? Jongdae hadn’t noticed.

Jongdae placed his quill onto the table, before leaning closer to survey Yixing.

“Zhang?” Jongdae asks again, forearm resting on the desk as he peers into Yixing’s face.

“Mmm...yeah?”

Jongdae’s voice serves to rouse Yixing from his reverie. The Slytherin jerks back immediately, as if he had abruptly realised his location. He titters sheepishly, carding his fingers through his hair.

A deep dimple appears on Yixing’s right cheek, and Jongdae can’t help but focus on that single indentation. Has Yixing always had a dimple?

Jongdae tears his eyes away and instead catches Yixing’s eye instead; it catches both of them off-guard.

“Whoa,” Yixing says simply. “My bad for blanking out on you there, Kim.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jongdae manages to say. What else could he have said, right?

-

Kim Jongdae isn’t unlucky. He’s just...

Okay, fine, maybe he is unlucky in this one instance. Jongdae had always been one who took his less-than-stellar health in his stride. All the good Kim stamina took an extended vacation in the period of Jongdae’s conception and decided to make its belated entrance for Jongin’s arrival in the world.

Therefore, when a cold bug hit the Hogwarts hallways, it hit Jongdae especially hard. Within several days, Jongdae had fallen prey to the bug, and his book bag was filled with more packets of tissues than rolls of parchment.

That being said, Jongdae can deal with the cold just fine...if it isn’t for the fact that he’ll be missing the year’s first visit to the village because of it. Jongdae shuffles silently, alongside Baekhyun and Chanyeol (although he consciously keeps himself at least an arms-length away from them). The school’s open gates soon come into view and many students are already making their way towards the village, no doubt excited for a day away from the school grounds.

Jongdae hides his pout behind his scarf, its yellow and black stitching emphasising his pallid countenance all the more. For him, the day ahead is most likely going to consist of him lounging listlessly in bed.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol stop in front of the school entrance and turn to Jongdae, both of them wearing mirroring expressions of guilt. Jongdae shakes his head, trying to wave off their feelings. It’s not their fault that Jongdae is sick, and it’s not as if Jongdae blames them for his missed chance of going to the village.

Chanyeol moves to take a step forward, but ends up pawing bashfully at the ground. “I wanna hug you to make you feel better, Jongdae, but what if I get sick, and if I end up sick I’ll just only make you feel worse-”

“What Chan means to say,” Baekhyun bops Chanyeol on the back of his head, effectively ending the Gryffindor’s babbling. “Is that we’ll bring back some sweets from the sweets shop. Sweets always make you feel better, right?”

“Yeah.” Jongdae manages a smile, though it hurts his chapped lips. “It would definitely help.”

With the common room near empty, Jongdae seizes the chance to commandeer the usually-bustling shared space. He spies the great yellow bean bag chair by the fireplace and promptly plomps himself into the soft material. By noon, Jongdae feels like he has sank into the bean bag chair to the extent that he has melted and become one with the plush. It almost makes him forget about his horrible mood, almost.

It’s time for lunch but Jongdae’s stomach doesn’t seem to get the memo. However, Jongdae is simply restless and he’s tired of cooping himself up in the quiet common room. It takes him longer than he’d like to admit but Jongdae brings himself off the beanbag with great difficulty.

Scarf wrapped carefully around the lower half of his face and neck, Jongdae shuffles past the barrels of the common room and makes his way to the courtyard. The breeze feels light and refreshing on his exposed skin, and Jongdae is grateful for the simple perk-up.

He stops against a pillar when he feels his nose getting drippy again. Slumping against the stone pillar, he scrambles in his jacket pocket, fumbling around for his handkerchief.

It's disgusting, the state of his handkerchief, but it's much better than having to incant _Evanesco_ every few hours. Jongdae groans, as a wave of lethargy suddenly ripples through his already-weakened body. He stumbles forward slightly and hoists himself onto the perch of the stone arch. Maybe he'll just take a quick rest here before heading back to the common room-

“Kim?” A voice that has grown all-too-familiar calls out to him.

Jongdae’s heavy eyes follow the source of the voice and he finds Yixing several metres away from him. With it being a weekend, the Slytherin isn’t dressed in his uniform. Rather, he wears a green plaid shirt and a pair of faded jeans. Jongdae’s somewhat surprised that Yixing’s dressed so casually.

“Kim?” Yixing says again, approaching Jongdae with his usual brisk steps. His expression changes when he takes in the ashenness of Jongdae’s face.

“For Merlin’s sake, what are you doing outside, Kim? You look dead on your feet,” Yixing rebukes, his eyes flicking from Jongdae’s house-coloured scarf to the well-used handkerchief held loosely in Jongdae’s weak grip.

“It...it was boring in the common room,” Jongdae finds himself whining; defenses be damned when one’s immunity is down, right? “Are you going to scold me for being bored out of my wits, Zhang?”

Yixing chews on the inside of his cheek, obviously holding his tongue from further scolding Jongdae. (As if it’s his position to even reprimand Jongdae in the first place.)

“You… Have you even gone and seen Nurse Sunkyu?” Yixing asks rather brusquely. The Slytherin doesn't even attempt to hide his frustration anymore; Jongdae can easily read his emotions from the multiple creases in Yixing's forehead.

Jongdae shrugs, before mumbling back, “It’s not a big deal...I didn’t want to bother her with it.”

“**_Kim_**,” Yixing sighs, and Jongdae blinks confusedly at how exasperated he sounds in just that one utterance.

Jongdae feels his legs starting to give way. His head is starting to get light and heavy at the same time. Yixing responds almost immediately, rushing forward and clutching Jongdae’s forearms, steadying the latter.

“I’m tired,” Jongdae says simply, feeling his eyes getting droopier. "I want to go back to the common room."

"Not in this state, you're not. Don't be foolish, Kim," Yixing retorts, though his tone isn't unkind.

"Whatever." Jongdae simply doesn't have it in him to snap back at Yixing.

Jongdae feels Yixing tightening his grip on his forearm and before he can even process what's happening, he feels Yixing pulling him off the perch. He's unsteady on his feet, relying mostly on Yixing for support. Yixing steps beside him and slings Jongdae's arm over his shoulder. Despite himself, Jongdae immediately slumps into Yixing's side, close enough that part of his face is lightly tickled by Yixing's hair.

“You’re coming with me, Kim.”

They make their way down the cobbled steps towards the courtyard. It's the exact opposite direction from the nurse's office but Jongdae doesn't raise any protests, for he's simply too tired. They shuffle together towards the row of school greenhouses and Jongdae's curiosity is further piqued when they stop in front of an unfamiliar greenhouse.

Much unlike the other greenhouses that Professor Hwang has held lessons in, this greenhouse is much smaller in stature; it definitely couldn't support a class of 37 within its walls. Why exactly did Yixing bring him here for?

Yixing procures his wand from his jeans pocket with his unoccupied hand, and waves wordlessly at the door. A click is heard and the door swings backwards. Jongdae weakly raises his head and his mouth immediately falls open at the sight before him.

Dense flora and fauna cover as far as Jongdae’s eyes can see. Lush, green vines and leaves creep up towards the skylight and sun rays dapple majestically through several crowns of the natural canopy. Strangely enough, it doesn’t feel claustrophobic, not in the slightest.

Right in the middle of the greenhouse is a large stone slab of a work desk, bracketed by two benches. Parchment papers, books, a pewter cauldron, and other oddities are strewn all over the desk, giving it a human touch in the midst of all the greenery.

Yixing guides Jongdae to one of the benches and Jongdae can’t help but unceremoniously slump onto the flat wooden seating, his legs very much appreciating the contact with the solid ground.

"Sit down here, okay? I need a few minutes to brew a draught for you." Yixing says and instantly sets off towards a row of planter boxes.

Jongdae nods his head sluggishly, even though he knows Yixing wouldn’t have caught the gesture. Slowly, gingerly, he leans forward and rests his head onto the desk, in a clearing in the midst of what he presumes should be Yixing’s belongings.

Of course, he doesn’t mean to poke into Yixing’s property but the items are just there, after all, in Jongdae’s vision. His heavy-lidded eyes process the nearest parchment paper, which has hand-drawn diagrams of flowers and other parts of plants. These drawings are accompanied by foreign characters and it takes several seconds for Jongdae to deduce that it might just be Yixing’s mother tongue.

“A couple of minutes more and the draught will be ready,” Yixing’s voice comes from his left. “You doing okay there, Kim?”

“Just peachy,” Jongdae finds himself croaking. Yixing breaks into a small smile and there it is, Jongdae spots that dimple again.

Yixing waves his wand silently at the bottom of the cauldron and soon enough, tiny flames start licking at the base. The Slytherin measures pinches of leaves and crushed flowers using a brass weighing scale and adds them into the cauldron, creating a lightly simmering concoction. Jongdae’s nose perks up at the faint aroma wafting from the cauldron; it smells minty and floral, and not peppery and spicy like Jongdae would have expected.

“No, I’m not giving you the Pepperup Potion, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Yixing speaks up, flashing Jongdae a knowing smile. “I don’t think you’d want steam coming out of your ears for the rest of the day.”

“Thanks.” It’s awfully considerate of Yixing. If he had brought Jongdae to the hospital wing, Nurse Sunkyu would have definitely given him the potion as a remedy. “If you’re not using Mandrake roots in this draught, then what are you using instead?”

Yixing continues stirring his concoction, but looks up towards Jongdae, eyebrows raised. Jongdae definitely isn’t as well-versed in potions and brewing like Yixing, but he did know a fair amount from general reading.

“This and that, but the main ingredient is Echinacea,” Yixing explains, holding up a sprig of flowers with pale pink petals. “It’ll work much milder than the Pepperup Potion but it’ll be effective enough.”

After several minutes, Yixing waves his wand again in front of the cauldron, and the tiny flames extinguish with a soft poof. He gives the clear concoction several last stirs to help cool it down before scooping a serving into a nearby ceramic mug. Striding over next to Jongdae (who instinctively sits himself upright), Yixing places the mug in front of him.

Jongdae cups the mug with both hands and already, the warmth from the mug starts to seep into his fingertips. He slowly brings the mug to his dry lips and takes a tentative sip. At first, the liquid feels light in his mouth but when it gets splayed all over his tongue, a tingling sensation kicks in. Jongdae takes another larger sip of the potion and as he swallows, he instead feels a refreshing cooling sensation, reminiscent of peppermint, as an aftertaste. Jongdae’s brows remained furrowed throughout as he experiences the different tastes and sensations. It’s pleasant-tasting on the whole and Yixing obviously possesses enough skill to brew such a draught with no tastes overwhelming the other.

“Good, isn’t it?” Yixing grins, once Jongdae has finished the entire mugful. “Definitely much better than drinking the Pepperup Potion.”

“...Yeah,” Jongdae says. “It’s good.”

Satisfied with Jongdae’s answer, Yixing’s grin grows wider. He bustles about the cauldron, using a pipette to transfer the draught into several glass vials. Corking the vials, he swirls the liquid within, once, twice, and slots them into a leather case.

“You still need to take these over the next two days, since it’s not as potent as the Pepperup Potion.” Yixing holds up the secured leather case in front of Jongdae, who quietly nods along in understanding. “Take a vial after every meal and make sure to finish all of them. Alright, Kim?”

Jongdae reaches out to take the case and carefully pockets them. Yixing looks at him almost expectantly, head cocked to the side. Feeling bashful in front of Yixing, Jongdae in turn drops his gaze to the desk.

“Thanks...You’ve really helped me a lot today, Zhang.”

“Hey, don’t mention it, okay, Kim?” Yixing says. “At least I know now that you’re feeling better.”

Jongdae makes a move to stand up but is immediately stopped by Yixing, who swoops to his side and grips Jongdae’s shoulder, prompting him to stay seated. Yixing lets out a small huff of frustration, though it doesn’t mirror his mild expression.

“Don’t be so hasty, Kim. You still need some time to rest,” Yixing says, keeping his hand firmly on Jongdae’s shoulder. “You can stay here for a while more. There won’t be any trespassers since this greenhouse belongs to my family. Just relax.”

_….belongs to my family_. The Zhangs owned a building on school property? Jongdae certainly didn’t know that.

Jongdae mutely nods his assent, still processing the fact that Yixing’s family possibly has a stake in the school or at least has a building on the school grounds in their name. He watches as Yixing grabs a moleskin journal and a quill from the desk and walks away, towards the row of planters.

The concept of time seems suspended within the greenhouse due to the absence of the horizon and the only clues Jongdae have been granted are the slightly dimmed sunspots that breach the cracks of the lush canopy. Jongdae feels himself getting lulled by the reassuring, soothing voice of nature and he rests his head gingerly onto the cold stone desk. Once his eyelids flutter shut, Jongdae’s consciousness follows suit and he feels himself getting tugged into sleep.

-

“Jongdae, Jongdae, wake up! It’s time for dinner.”

Jongdae’s head feels like he’s been submerged underwater. The voice echoes dully in his brain and Jongdae takes way too long to identify the owner of said voice.

"Wha?" Jongdae mumbles back groggily, his eyes blinking in order to acclimatize to his surroundings. "Junmyeon-hyung?"

It takes him even longer to process that he's seated back in the giant yellow bean bag chair in the Hufflepuff common room. He shifts in his spot and feels the tiny beads within the chair getting displaced by his action.

Had he been in this bean bag the whole time…? Jongdae's head is still muddled up and it definitely isn't because of his cold.

"Who else were you expecting?" Junmyeon deadpans, appearing at the doorway of the boys' sleeping quarters. His lips are pursed together in a disapproving pout and Jongdae can only muster a sheepish grin in response.

"I don't know… Maybe I was just dreaming things," Jongdae scratches at the nape of his neck, tired eyes trained on the woollen carpet at his feet. "I just thought I was somewhere else…"

Junmyeon sighs.

"More like your head's the one that's somewhere else. Go and wash up, Jongdae. I'll be waiting for you in front of the kitchen."

His cousin pushes on a barrel guarding the entrance of the common room, leaving Jongdae alone with his thoughts. Jongdae moves to get back onto his feet but gets distracted by a clinking sound coming from himself. His attention is finally brought to an unfamiliar weight in his right jeans pocket. Patting the occupied pocket, he pulls out a leather case that definitely doesn’t belong to him.

Opening the case, Jongdae squints inquisitively at the glass vials held inside, scrutinising the clear liquids contained within. He blinks twice, thrice before a wave of realisation hits him.

Yixing. The greenhouse. The draught.

He didn't dream it after all.

-

Several emptitied vials later and Jongdae is back to his usual condition, or at least, as good as it gets for him. Yixing's draught had really helped with his cold; that, and the explosion of candy bars that Baekhyun and Chanyeol had showered him with after dinner that evening.

Jongdae doesn't know exactly how he wants to thank Yixing for his help. Waiting until their Thursday tutoring session seems way too long for his gratitude to get genuinely expressed and sending a thank you note via owl seems too impersonal. Besides, if Kyoong or worse still, his owner himself, were to intercept his message, Jongdae would never live it down.

It's now Tuesday and Jongdae has kept the case full of clean vials with him in his satchel. On Monday, he had hoped that he could 'accidentally' bump into Yixing around the hallways, but Jongdae soon realised it was wishful thinking on his part. Yixing, much like the other sixth-years, has periods free from dropping what once were mandatory subjects. It was highly unlikely that they would casually cross paths in between classes anyway.

Jongdae's starting to feel jittery; the thank you's on the tip of his tongue but the intended recipient simply isn't there to accept it. Jongdae dislikes this, dislikes being riled up by Yixing, but for an entirely different reason now.

So, right before lunch, Jongdae finds himself navigating along the mossy stone pathway towards the courtyard. He walks past all the greenhouses until he reaches the end of the pathway and halts in front of the greenhouse from last week.

There's a plaque situated right next to the door of the greenhouse and Jongdae inches forward, crouching slightly to get a better look. The silver plaque looks well-maintained, and well, Jongdae expected that much from someone of Yixing, who's proud of his background.

** _PROPERTY OF ZHANG GENERAL HOSPITAL_ **  
** _ WHICH HAS BEEN DEDICATED FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES_ **

Research purposes? More questions start forming in Jongdae's mind. Why exactly does the Zhang family need a greenhouse on school grounds to conduct research? And wouldn't it make sense for the hospital to have a much bigger greenhouse in the first place?

To his left, the greenhouse door suddenly creaks open and Jongdae immediately startles, jumping away from the plaque as if he had been caught doing something wrong. (If this greenhouse is private property, then Jongdae could be considered trespassing. He hope he isn’t.)

"Kim?" Yixing calls out, his hands occupied with a large potted herb. “What are you doing here?”

_What am I doing here, indeed_, Jongdae says to himself. He shuffles on the spot, the thank you on his tongue having suddenly dissipated like the bubbles of a fizzy cola. _Goodness, Jongdae, it’s just Zhang Yixing_, he continues his internal monologue. _You can do it, just say thank you, return him the vials and you can go-_

“Do you want to come inside, Kim?” Yixing asks, hoisting the overly large pot to his hip, and gestures into the greenhouse. “‘I’m not doing much right now but you can take a look inside if you’d like.”

Jongdae’s mouth has betrayed him yet again (it’s a recurring action whenever it comes to Yixing), so he settles for a curt nod. Jongdae shuffles into the greenhouse and he can’t help but look around, mouth slightly agape in wonder over all the species of plants that Yixing has maintained in this small greenhouse.

It’s all too much, that Jongdae backs himself onto the bench in the middle of the greenhouse and takes a seat. His eyes continue scanning the area, from the planter boxes in one corner of the greenhouse to a row of much larger plants, much like the one Yixing had been carrying earlier, that look close to erupting from the soil. He watches Yixing disappear behind a row of tall, creeping vines and Jongdae feels more like an intruder than ever.

He should have just waited till Thursday to thank Yixing and return his vials. Now, he’s just awkwardly waiting for the moment for Yixing to return and tell him to get lost or something. Jongdae anxiously makes patterns in the soil with the cap of his shoes, not trusting himself to move from his position.

“Yixing-hyung, I... I feel better now, I think I should go.”

Jongdae freezes. There’s someone else in the greenhouse, other than Yixing and himself. He knows he should probably get out, probably shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but he’s already here and...whoever Yixing’s talking to is here too. So obviously, the best thing to do now is stay perfectly still and pretend he doesn’t exist, obviously.

“Kyungsoo, you know you can wait for me to finish up and we can go to the Great Hall together, right?” Jongdae hears Yixing’s muffled reply. “Just give me a few more minutes, yeah?”

Kyungsoo? Now, why does that name ring a bell? Where did Jongdae hear that name from again?

Yixing emerges from the row of creeping vines, with a comforting arm wound around a smaller, scrawny boy. Jongdae takes in the boy’s house crest, the Ravenclaw eagle, stitched onto his robe that's dishevelled, as if he had been roughly shoved around. Jongdae feels a lump form immediately in his throat when he registers the boy’s overly bright eyes and fresh tear tracks on his ruddy cheeks. He immediately looks away, focusing his gaze onto the stone desk, in order to give the boy and Yixing some privacy.

“I have to go… You have a guest anyway. I’ll stop being a nuisance,” The boy named Kyungsoo says in between sniffles.

Jongdae can’t help but feel like the dirt beneath his feet when he hears that. Jongdae himself is obviously the nuisance here, not Kyungsoo. As much as he wants to say something to comfort the upset Ravenclaw, he knows that it isn't his place.

"Fine, but I need you to wipe your face first, okay? I’ll follow you outside.”

Yixing's arm is still slung over Kyungsoo's hunched shoulders as he leads the latter out of the greenhouse. Jongdae holds his breath, head simply spinning with so many questions from just the past ten minutes alone.

The greenhouse door shuts with a click and Yixing makes his way to the stone desk. As if the whole incident with Kyungsoo hadn't just happened, Yixing casually scans through the notes he had laid across the desk. That’s fine with Jongdae; if Yixing wants to pretend that it didn’t happen, Jongdae can follow suit.

"So what are you doing here, Kim?" Yixing asks again, eyes still trained on his drawing of a rosemary plant. "Don't tell me you couldn't wait until Thursday to see me again."

Jongdae is flabbergasted for all of a second. "Maybe in your dreams, Zhang," he shoots back.

Yixing chuckles, bringing a gloved hand to his mouth, covering the bright grin on his face.

“Oh, I’m awake now, trust me.”

Ignoring Yixing’s comment, Jongdae unbuckles his satchel and takes out the leather case full of the vials. He places it gingerly on the table, pushing it across until it nudges Yixing's notes.

"I came to return your vials," Jongdae says carefully. "And...to thank you properly. I thought it’d be better if I went to find you earlier to thank you. I really, really appreciate what you’ve done for me, Zhang."

Yixing looks up from his notes, his mirthful expression now replaced with a small smile. Unlike the smug, self-assured countenance that Jongdae’s so used to seeing on Yixing, this one is much more relaxed and genuine. And Jongdae simply can’t help it, but his eyes fall on Yixing’s dimple again. (But in his defense, looking at his dimple is much easier than looking Yixing straight in the eyes at this very moment.)

“Don’t worry about it, Kim. I’m just glad you’re alright.”

Both of them fall silent, the lull in their conversation entirely unusual because Jongdae’s just so used to Yixing having _something_ to say to him, _something_ to tease him about; Jongdae’s so used to being on edge to retort back to Yixing’s teasing.

“Well, I think it’s time for us to make a move.” Yixing says, after consulting his wristwatch. “It’d be best if we make it to the Great Hall early.”

Yixing shucks off his gloves and places them onto his notes. He proceeds to wipe away any traces of dirt on his clothes before straightening his tie, which is clasped snugly around his neck. Unconsciously, Jongdae too reaches out and smoothens his own collar. He can’t come out here looking like a slob when he wasn’t the one who was handling dirt, right?

Jongdae hastily stands up when Yixing grabs his own leather satchel, causing the latter to chuckle at his jitters. Jongdae huffs, feeling his face flush.

“Shall we head off for lunch then, or would you rather not be seen with me outside of the library?” Yixing asks, raising an eyebrow at Jongdae. “I’m a generous guy, Kim. I’ll let you choose.”

“Keep making fun of me like this and I’m really going to get Chanyeol to put a hex on you one of these days,” Jongdae sulks, stuffing his hands in his pockets, resisting the urge to draw out his wand and wipe the smirk off Yixing’s face.

“Tough words and all, but that’s not a no, isn’t it?”

Yixing’s right. It isn’t.

-

Thursday arrives and of course, it’s the day of Jongdae’s tutoring session with Yixing. He finds his mind slowly getting encroached with thoughts of Yixing (and that annoying dimple, if he’s being honest), those notes written in his native tongue, and the greenhouse under the Zhang General Hospital. He just has so many questions regarding the greenhouse, that the issue manages to pull his attention away from academic matters.

For Merlin’s sake, in Charms class today, Jongdae had misspoken a single syllable in his incantation and instead of the Colour Change charm that he was supposed to cast, he had instead made his writing quill swell to the size of a feather from an overgrown Hippogriff. He had been lucky that Professor Liu was so tickled by Jongdae’s mistake and had kept the feather as a memento.

During the tutoring session, Jongdae keeps getting reminded of his mistake as his eyes fall onto his writing quill, underlining and scratching out Yixing’s incorrect rune translations. Yixing stays seated quietly next to him, and Jongdae finds it so...at odds with whatever it is they had at the greenhouse on Tuesday.

With his mind so focused on uncovering the deal behind Yixing and the greenhouse, it’s only a matter of time before his twitchy lips let loose.

“I know it’s going to sound like I’m intruding but I just wanted to ask…why exactly does the Zhang General Hospital have a greenhouse on school grounds?” It’s during their break time that Jongdae finally well, breaks.

Yixing hums in acknowledgment, twirling his writing quill between his thumb and forefinger. “Well, since I let you into the greenhouse, I don’t see why I shouldn’t tell you.”

The Zhangs, Jongdae learns, not only run a hospital back in their home country but also a small chain of apothecaries. The greenhouse had been built as an agreement between the school and the Zhangs, where the greenhouse was dedicated to growing herbs and flowers commonly found in traditional Chinese medicine. In exchange for tending to the greenhouse, the school is free to use all the available plants in the greenhouse and could even reach out to the Zhangs themselves should they need certain ingredients. Ever since Yixing had started schooling, he himself took on the responsibility of tending to the garden.

“This agreement between the school and my family was formalised well before I was due for enrolment. In case you get any funny ideas, Kim,” Yixing suddenly says in the midst of his explanation, lips curling up as he flashes a knowing smile at Jongdae.

Jongdae has the sense to stay quiet. He always knew that Yixing had never forgotten their argument last semester and he knows that he totally deserved that. It still stings for Yixing to call him out like this.

Their tutoring session ends with both of them successfully looking through four whole rolls of translations. It’s when Jongdae is watching Yixing stow away his rolls into his satchel that an idea suddenly manifests itself in his mind. And before his mind could wholly consider this idea, his mouth reacts first.

“Zhang, what do you think about meeting up in your greenhouse instead?’

Yixing stills, his hand resting on the clasp of his satchel. He shifts in his seat and shoots Jongdae an incredulous expression. “I’m sorry?”

“I-I mean,” Jongdae stammers. He’s going to sound like a fool, he knows it, but he’s already put that idea out anyway so he’s going to run with it. “I mean since your family owns it and everything, you know! It can be your own private study area too, I mean, who likes studying in a library anyway, right?”

Yixing sinks back into his seat and he looks as if he is seriously considering Jongdae’s idea.

“Huh,” Yixing says simply, his neutral expression giving nothing away. Jongdae can only wait with bated breath.

“Sure, I don’t see why not.”

Sometimes, letting his mouth take over himself does work out in the end after all.

-

It’s weird to break this routine of rushing off towards the first floor corridor after Charms class every Thursday. Jongdae is practically flying across the hallways and almost skips past the cobbled pathway that leads to the courtyard. He comes to an abrupt halt, shoes squeaking against the floor before he changes direction and heads down towards the greenhouse.

He raps on the greenhouse door thrice in quick succession and takes a step back, his chest still heaving slightly from his sprint. The door swings open and Yixing is greeting him with a large stalk of trimmed stems in hand.

“Don’t be a stranger, Kim. Come on in,” Yixing says, jerking his head towards the greenhouse’s interior.

Jongdae nods and he follows Yixing inside. He sets his satchel onto the wooden bench and starts to unpack his book and writing equipment. Yixing soon joins him at the stone table, seating himself opposite Jongdae.

Unfortunately, with this seating arrangement, Jongdae soon discovers that the probability of looking up and catching Yixing’s eyes has increased by about 100%. Back in the library, when they were seated side by side, Jongdae would only meet Yixing’s gaze when he had to explain a reading to the sixth-year. Sure, Jongdae could deal with that.

But now, whenever Jongdae looks up from the translation he’s working on just to rest his eyes, he looks up and finds Yixing’s eyes trained on him. As if mocking Jongdae, that godforsaken dimple keeps featuring ever so prominently in his cheek. Obviously, Jongdae has no choice but to avert his eyes and concentrate back onto Yixing’s work, obviously.

Perhaps Yixing has taken pity on Jongdae or something, because he asks for a break after Jongdae has finished looking through just one roll of translations. Jongdae’s never felt so relieved before; he quickly nods his agreement and practically scrambles out of his seat, glad to finally extricate himself from Yixing’s close scrutiny.

Jongdae hurriedly shuffles towards a corner of the greenhouse, probably the furthest he could currently get from Yixing. His feet bring him to a well-maintained row of raised flower beds. Jongdae crouches to take a closer look at the prospering plants. While there are some buds still, the flowers are mostly in full, proud bloom, with their delicate petals spread open. Jongdae studies the flowers in wonder, entranced by the myriad of colours spread across the flower beds.

“Those aren’t exactly for research purposes. I just like having some flowers here.”

Jongdae looks up to find Yixing standing next to him, his eyes firmly set on the flower beds. By the tender look in Yixing’s eyes, Jongdae can tell that he’s obviously very attached to these flower beds.

“They’re all very pretty. You’re doing a good job in taking care of them.”

“Thanks.”

Yixing too crouches down, beside Jongdae, and reaches out to touch one of the blooming plants. His fingers stop on a sprig full of closely-packed, bell-shaped lilac flowers and in a swift motion, Yixing pulls a pair of gardening shears (he had those with him the whole time?) and snips at the base of the plant.

Before Jongdae could even open his mouth to question what Yixing had just done, the Slytherin abruptly straightens up and says, “Kim, why don’t we stop today’s session right here? I just remembered I have something I need to do.”

“Excuse me?” Jongdae says in bewilderment, jumping onto his feet as well. “Just like that?”

“Yeah,” Yixing says, as if that’s enough of an explanation. “I’ll see you again next Thursday?”

Jongdae decides that he has no choice but to heed Yixing’s words. It’s Yixing’s greenhouse, so it’s his rules and all. He packs away his belongings into his bag and calls out a goodbye to Yixing, who responds with an absent-minded goodbye of his own.

But it turns out that Jongdae didn’t have to wait long for an explanation (albeit an indirect one) for Yixing’s behaviour. The next morning, as he’s sipping on a cup of earl grey tea for his breakfast, an unfamiliar owl swoops over the Hufflepuff table and lands gracefully on Jongdae’s saucer. The owl sticks out its leg at Jongdae, bringing his attention to the envelope clenched firmly within its talons. Jongdae pries the envelope from the bird’s grip and the owl hops away from the saucer cheerfully, having completed its task. The owl preens at its feathers for a while before it sets off into flight.

Jongdae turns the envelope in his hand curiously. There’s no name written on the envelope but the owl did stop exactly in front of him so it should be addressed to him, right? Opening the envelope, Jongdae pulls out the first, larger item he finds inside: a piece of paper folded into half. He silently reads the contents of the letter, lips following the syllables of every word.

_Kim, the blooming period doesn’t last long but there’s a way to appreciate the beauty of flowers for much longer. This flower is a heather. Use it as a bookmark._

_\- ZYX_

Having processed the letter’s contents, Jongdae reaches out for the second item within the envelope. It’s a sprig of pressed purple flowers, the exact same one that Yixing had trimmed yesterday. Jongdae examines in pure amazement, impressed with how the vibrancy of the flower has been captured so closely.

Jongdae decides to use the pressed flower for his reading of Volume 3 of _Chadwick’s Charms_.

-

The days seem to flash by quickly and it’s already Thursday, meaning it’s time for his weekly tutoring session with Yixing. Jongdae isn’t going to admit it to anyone (especially to a certain pink-haired Slytherin) but he’s stopped finding the sessions a chore. Yixing’s obviously much more relaxed in the greenhouse as compared to the library and Jongdae doesn’t have to rush so much after his Charms class because the greenhouse is closer to his classroom.

In fact, Jongdae is five minutes early for the session today, as Professor Liu had dismissed the class early. Chanyeol had, in the Charms Professors’ words, “put too much pep” into his incantation for the Cheering Charm that his partner had burst into extraordinary loud peals of laughter. The whole class started to join in the laughter as well, with Chanyeol of course laughing along the loudest. Luckily enough, Professor Liu possessed a good sense of humour. She ended the class early, but not before sending off poor Kim Minjun to the hospital wing where the Gryffindor could laugh in peace until his laughing fit had subsided.

Jongdae walks briskly through the mossy path meandering through the school greenhouses. He’s lucky he hasn’t been running though, as he manages to stop in time from crashing into the boy he had seen weeks prior, Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo immediately holds up his hands in front of him, preparing himself for a possible collision. Jongdae, still buzzed from the Cheering Charm exercise, simply giggles at Kyungsoo’s endearing action.

“You’re safe, you know, I managed to stop myself in time,” Jongdae jokes, offering Kyungsoo a friendly smile.

Kyungsoo timidly peers at Jongdae through the space in between his trembling hands. He doesn’t protest when Jongdae reaches out slowly and coaxes his hands down.

“I’m sorry, Kyungsoo, I should have watched where I was going,” Jongdae apologises softly. He keeps his hands on Kyungsoo’s smaller ones, hoping that his touch could help soothe Kyungsoo’s jitteriness. Soon enough, he feels the tenseness ebb away from Kyungsoo’s tense hands.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo mumbles.

“No problem,” Jongdae says warmly and he slowly releases his grip on Kyungsoo’s hands. “Were you from Zhang’s greenhouse?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen upon hearing Jongdae’s question. “Z-Zhang? You, you mean, Yixing-hyung?”

“Well, yes,” Jongdae says, frowning slightly. “Is there something wrong with me calling him by his surname?”

Jongdae’s words seem to have set Kyungsoo back into a flustered state. The Ravenclaw starts blinking nervously behind his thick-framed glasses and averts Jongdae’s eyes, much to the latter’s bewilderment.

“N-no, it’s nothing…” Kyungsoo talks at the ground, instead of Jongdae. “But when I hear Yixing-hyung talk about you, I just, I just thought you both are friends.”

“Wait, Zhang does _what-_?”

“Nothing! It’s, it’s nothing! I.. I have to go!” Kyungsoo suddenly pipes up, and he bursts into a half-dash past Jongdae, leaving the Hufflepuff even more confused.

Kyungsoo’s twitchy behaviour and his curious words occupy the forefront of Jongdae’s thoughts. So much so, that when Yixing opens the door for him, he absently greets the Slytherin without much thought.

“Good afternoon, Yixing.”

“...Yixing?” Yixing repeats his own name back to Jongdae.

Jongdae blinks once, twice, before he freezes on the spot, fully comprehending his slip up. Yixing looks just as flabbergasted as he is; Jongdae thinks that if Yixing had been carrying anything, as he always does whenever he’s greeting Jongdae, he would have probably dropped it in shock.

Between both of them, Jongdae is the first to find his voice. “Yes. Yixing. I can call you that, right? It is your name after all.”

Yixing’s reply comes so swiftly, that it almost seems robotic. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s my name. Yixing. Ha...haha!”

The awkward air between them continues to hover like a dense fog, even when the tutoring session commences, and Jongdae almost wants to call out for an early end himself. Somehow, they both survive the most painful session between them yet.

Yixing’s tawny owl visits Jongdae again during breakfast the next day. Jongdae crams the buttered slice of toast into his mouth and scrambles to retrieve the envelope addressed to him. Just as the previous one, Jongdae finds another letter and another pressed flower inside the envelope. He takes a few seconds to admire the cheeriness emanating from the vibrant yellow flower before moving on to read the letter.

_You probably read so many books so I’m thinking you need another bookmark. In case you’re wondering, Jongdae, this one is called freesia._

_\- ZYX_

One particular word in the letter jumps out at him. _Jongdae_. His own name.

-

Jongdae has had to put on hold his reading of not only _Chadwick’s Charms_, but also his other easy reading books. It feels like his prefectorial duties and O.W.L.s have been competing recently, to see which could take up more of his attention. His two best friends have also started to feel the pressures of their fifth year. Baekhyun has asked the Professor-in-Charge to cut down his parts in the school choir. Chanyeol is still as dedicated in Quidditch as ever, determined to fight for a starting spot in Captain Lu’s team, but he too has his nose deep in a textbook nowadays.

Being surrounded by the lush greenery of the Zhang greenhouse helps Jongdae forget about his worries. Worries about whether he’ll be ready for the standardised tests, worries over his conduct as a Hufflepuff prefect...somehow, Jongdae is able to let go of these thoughts once he steps inside, even though it’s momentary.

Though it’s still probably showing in his face, for Yixing ends their session early to brew a draught for calming nerves. Yixing says that it’s for the both of them and Jongdae doesn’t press him on it, as he watches Yixing gather plant parts needed for brewing.

Jongdae watches in part-amazement, part-envy as Yixing casts non-verbal spells throughout the brewing process. The Slytherin casually waves his wand in quick, delivered swishes and all of his incantations are performed cleanly, from magicking his wooden spoon into doing the stirring for him to the cauldron tipping over and pouring out the draught steadily into mugs for both of them.

From the first sip of the pale pink liquid, Jongdae can feel his throat start to warm up pleasantly. He downs his mug in the next long gulp while Yixing, seated opposite him, continues to nurse his own mug with measured sips.

“Do you want some more, Jongdae?” Yixing asks, setting his mug onto the table.

“Please.” Jongdae holds out his now empty cup towards Yixing.

Yixing picks up his wand and waves it wordlessly at the cauldron. It tips forward again, pouring out the draught and refilling Jongdae’s mug with nary a spill.

“I wish I could do that,” Jongdae admits, as he brings the filled mug back onto the table.

“Do what? Non-verbal spells, you mean?”

Jongdae nods excitedly, leaning forward in his seat. “Yes, non-verbal spells! They’re only taught in the sixth-year, right? Is it hard to pick up?”

Yixing only takes another sip from his cup, deliberating silently over Jongdae’s questions, before shrugging in response.

“For me, it’s the same as any other spell. Only that you can’t say the incantation… I guess.”

The Slytherin’s answer is unsatisfying to Jongdae’s ears and he immediately makes his disapproval known. “Come on, Yixing! I know for a fact that non-verbal spells are hard. I’ve watched Junmyeon-hyung practice in the common room and even he took so long to get used to it.”

“Huh,” Yixing replies. “I never thought about it so much.”

In the silence between them, Jongdae has finished his second mug of calming draught. Without any prompting, Yixing picks up his wand again to refill Jongdae’s cup.

"You don't need to use words all the time, you know," Yixing says, peering over the rim of his mug. “Sometimes, words aren’t really needed when the intent is pure.”

Jongdae considers Yixing's placid proclamation for a beat. Sure, that mindset probably works for Yixing but it definitely wouldn’t for Jongdae, whose mouth tends to act quicker than his mind.

"It's hard when you're best friends with Baekhyun and Chanyeol. It's practically ingrained in me to always, always have the last word. Over the years, my mouth’s just learnt to spit my words out," Jongdae confesses, his free hand fiddling with the collar of his shirt.

Yixing laughs, and his shoulders shudder lightly with every peal of laughter. He shakes his curling bangs away from his eyes, the same eyes that regard Jongdae with such pure earnestness, that Jongdae can't help but gaze back.

Jongdae realises, as he tackles the steps to the kitchen two at a time, that it was Yixing's own way of ensuring that Jongdae did indeed have the last word.

_Cute_. Jongdae clutches his Ancient Runes textbook more securely against his chest.

-

Jongdae finds himself back at the library, but for a tutoring session of his own. After a particularly discouraging grade in his recent Arithmancy assignment, Jongdae had accosted his cousin, Minseok, for help in the subject. The seventh year is somehow the picture of perfect zen despite juggling his studies for N.E.W.T.s and his duties as the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain. Jongdae has always envied Minseok’s unshakeable calmness, whether in the face of demanding assignment deadlines or dealing with Chanyeol’s incessant whining whenever he scolds the Gryffindor during their one-on-one Quidditch trainings. (If it had been up to Jongdae, a harmless hex would do the trick but don’t tell anyone.)

“Do you understand now, Jongdae?” Minseok asks for what feels like the tenth time that afternoon.

“I don’t, I really don’t.”

Dropping his quill in frustration, Jongdae leans back in his chair and lets out a tired whine. Beside him, Minseok merely takes the parchment Jongdae’s been working on for the past hour and runs through the numbers silently. Jongdae huffs in frustration, taking offence at the numbers that have swirled into a jumbled mess in his tired eyes.

“Let me use your textbook, Jongdae,” Minseok says, reaching out for the _Numerology and Grammatica_ book that Jongdae has been staring daggers into.

Minseok starts flipping through the book silently, fingers flicking through the pages before he stops against the pages where Jongdae had marked with a freshly pressed flower. The Ravenclaw gingerly picks up the bookmark and turns it over in his hand, inspecting it with keen interest.

Jongdae leans over and smiles when he sees Minseok examining the bookmark. Yixing had given that particular pressed flower last week; it’s a tulip, according to Yixing. Jongdae had purposely used the tulip bookmark for his Arithmancy textbook as its cheery yellow hue helps brighten Jongdae’s mood whenever he’s forced to consult it for his assignments.

“Oh, cute, isn’t it?” Jongdae can’t help but remark cheerfully. “I just got this bookmark from Yixing last week.”

“Yixing?” One of Minseok’s thick eyebrows quirks upon hearing the Slytherin’s name. “Yixing’s been giving you these?”

Jongdae tilts his head quizzically; it’s not really a big deal to him. Plus, other than this and brewing draughts to share between them sporadically, Yixing hasn’t exactly repaid Jongdae’s efforts in tutoring in any other way.

“I mean...yeah?” Jongdae affirms, doubt starting to set in when Minseok’s frown deepens. “Yixing’s been growing them himself and they’re all very pretty flowers… Minseok-hyung, I don’t see what’s the big deal? They’re just flowers.”

His words trail off when Minseok gives him a look of pure exasperation. Minseok hands the bookmark back to Jongdae, who takes it with uncertainty. He himself starts to inspect the pressed flower more closely, bringing it up to his face. Did Minseok read something from the flower that he didn’t pick up? Jongdae knows that his cousin has always been clever, possibly the smartest in their extended family by far, but this, this is just unfair.

“Jongdae, Jongdae… You don’t get it at all, do you?" Minseok says simply. "They're not _just_ flowers."

Jongdae purses his lips in confusion. “What do you mean by that? What exactly am I missing here, Minseok-hyung?”

His cousin’s eyes fall back towards the flower in Jongdae’s grasp. “If you’d wait for the next flower from Yixing, maybe you’ll get a better idea. Until then, Jongdae, you really don’t understand.”

-

The next bookmark is delivered to him not on a Friday, as Jongdae has come to expect, but on a Saturday morning instead. Yixing has been away for several days, having to attend to urgent family matters back in his home country. Of course, their tutoring sessions have been put on hold and Jongdae has been itching to visit the greenhouse, but he doesn’t have a reason, what with Yixing’s absence.

The flower looks and feels more dried that all of the sprigs of flowers that Yixing has sent him before, probably because it’s travelled such a great distance. The note attached to the envelope simply contains the name of the flower (_aster_) and the written promise that Yixing will return next week. Jongdae decides that it’s his favourite flower and favourite bookmark yet; the numerous purple petals bloom into a shape of a star and he especially likes the feel of it against his fingertips.

Back in the boy’s dormitory, Jongdae stands in front of his opened trunk, hands on his hips. He inspects the numerous books within and wonders which book he ought to use with his new bookmark. It almost feels like a shame to hide the flower away between the pages of a heavy tome. After a moment’s thought, Jongdae reaches into his trunk and pulls out an empty photo frame. He carefully frames the flower and places the frame onto his nightstand, feeling content with his decision.

-

Yixing returns on a Tuesday evening, after dinner time. Jongdae knows this because he’s in charge of patrolling the first level hallways, just next to the school’s entrance. He’s just about to be done with his rounds, mind already thinking about his bed back in the dormitory, when the swift clacking of boots pulls him away from his thoughts.

Dressed smartly in a grey peacoat and tailored slacks, Yixing strides through the entrance with a leather duffel bag in hand. Jongdae can’t exactly see Yixing’s expression through the dimness of the night but he’s guessing the latter’s expression is as controlled as always, despite how exhausted he should be from his trip.

“Yixing!” Jongdae immediately calls out to him, face perking up over the sixth-year’s return.

In spite of himself, Jongdae jogs over to Yixing, who has stopped in his tracks. A flash of recognition flashes across Yixing’s tired face and he smiles. Jongdae can’t help but smile even wider.

“You’re back!” Jongdae says, excitedly rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“I am,” Yixing replies, before running a hand through his hair, which has somehow held up well through his transit. “I hope you’ve been doing well, Jongdae.”

Jongdae scoffs playfully; never mind himself, Yixing’s the one who’s just returned from travelling! “Of course I’m okay, I’m always okay. You should be the one worrying about yourself, you know!”

Considering how Jongdae’s already done with his rounds for the evening, he decides to walk with Yixing into the school hallways. They have to part midway at the crossroads of the first floor; Jongdae to the Hufflepuff basement back near the kitchen and Yixing to the Slytherin dungeon.

“I’m glad you’re the first person I saw when I returned to school, Jongdae,” Yixing says as he turns to face Jongdae, his tone weary but ultimately sincere. “I really missed you.”

Jongdae immediately falters, almost tripping over his feet. Did, did he hear Yixing right? That Yixing had missed him?

“Y-Yixing?” Jongdae stammers in outright disbelief. He can feel his cheeks heating up in response to Yixing’s unexpected admission.

“I’m glad you’re the first person I saw,” Yixing says again, but this time, more firmly. “-because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

What can Jongdae say to that and what exactly does Yixing expect him to say? Jongdae’s mouth is open, but he can’t bring himself to say anything. It’s not that he doesn’t want to reply, it isn’t that. He’s just so scared of saying the wrong thing to Yixing. He’s done it before, back when there was nothing between them and Yixing was nothing more than just an insufferable, well-off Slytherin to him.

While Jongdae experiences an inner turmoil, Yixing only stays quiet, watching him closely with piercing eyes. Jongdae picks up his mouth just as Yixing picks up his duffel luggage from the floor, and Jongdae’s answer remains unspoken in his throat.

“Good night, Jongdae,” Yixing greets, as if the last few minutes between them hadn’t just happened. “I’ll see you on Thursday.”

And with a turn of his heel, Yixing leaves Jongdae alone in the hallways, alone in his thoughts.

-

The aster turns out to be the last bookmark that Yixing gifts him and Jongdae is so, so tempted to ask Yixing for the reason. Jongdae has come to expect these bookmarks from Yixing so it confuses him immensely when the Slytherin’s owl has stopped dropping by the Hufflepuff table.

Well, he’s friends with Yixing, he could say that, but Jongdae’s scared that he’ll come across as whiny or worse, demanding when he raises the matter with Yixing. They’re just flowers after all, right? It isn’t as if Yixing’s ignoring him or anything.

It’s a sleepy Saturday morning and Jongdae has slept in, tired from a school week filled with non-stop assignments. He rolls over in his bed and reaches out a tired hand for his glasses. Missing his glasses completely, he ends up knocking the photo frame over. Jongdae groans in irritation and scrabbles again for his glasses, slipping them onto his face before sitting up in his bed. Jongdae moves to make the photo frame stand again but pauses when his eyes register the aster.

A dawn of realisation hits him and Jongdae scrambles off his bed. He opens his trunk and shifts through his belongings. Kneeling on the floor, he sets three books before him and hurriedly flips through each of them until he finds the flower bookmarks pressed between their pages. Within a few minutes, Jongdae has arranged them in a neat line, from the first flower he’s received from Yixing to the most recent aster, encased in the photo frame.

Jongdae’s itching to rush off to the library but he’s forced to shower and look presentable first so he jogs off to take the quickest shower he’s even taken in his life. His glasses are hanging askew on his face and his honey blond hair is probably sticking out everywhere but Jongdae doesn’t care. He needs to quell the niggling feeling that has sprouted in his chest ever since he had first laid his eyes on the framed aster in the morning.

Walking past rows and rows of familiar bookshelves, Jongdae finds himself in a different section, entirely dedicated to Herbology. His eyes scan the spines for what feels like an eternity, before he finally finds a book that looks to be of use to him. _A Victorian Flower Dictionary: The Language of Flowers_. This should be it.

Placing the book onto the nearest vacant desk, Jongdae takes a seat and retrieves his collection of flower bookmarks gifted by Yixing from his bag. Very carefully and gently, he arranges them in chronological order, starting with the lavender heather on his left and ending with the purple aster, still encased in the photo frame, on his right.

He impatiently flips to the appendix, with no intention of wasting needless time and effort, and turns to page 49, which is dedicated to the heather flower.

_...Traditional purple heather is used to represent admiration, beauty and solitude, while pink heather is associated with good luck. If white heather is chosen, it means protection from danger..._

Jongdae swallows the small lump that has settled at the base of his throat. He takes in a shaky breath to collect himself before returning to the appendix to look for the page leading to the next flower, the freesia. It’s page 34 and Jongdae duly flips to the corresponding page.

_...Delicate freesias are best known for their dainty blooms. The bell-shaped flower with an almost citrus fragrance comes in a variety of colors, but specific meanings are only attached to the white or yellow freesias. The white freesia is used as an expression of innocence while the yellow flower is said to mainly signify friendship..._

Then, what about the tulip? Jongdae quickly flips through the book again for the flower, which according to the appendix, could be found on page 77.

_...The meaning of tulips is generally perfect love. Like many flowers, different colors of tulips also often carry their own significance. Red tulips are most strongly associated with true love, while purple symbolizes royalty. The meaning of yellow tulips has evolved somewhat, from once representing hopeless love to now being a common expression for cheerful thoughts and sunshine..._

Jongdae’s mind is racing from all of the floriography that he’s absorbed just from three flowers. He slumps back in his chair, trying to process everything that he’s read in the past minutes. His eyes fall on the last flower, the purple aster preserved within the wooden photo frame. The lump within his throat has expanded, growing from the base to the entirety of his throat, making it hard for Jongdae to breathe normally.

It takes him several choked up breaths but Jongdae eventually musters the courage to scan the appendix for the final time for his last flower.

_Those lucky enough to be born in the month of September can claim the vibrant aster as their birthday flower. Asters have a flower meaning of patience, love, daintiness and good luck. The plants may also be used for their strong medicinal properties. Certain varieties of the flower are said to help with migraines, colds and headaches, while others are used to aid in treating the pain of sciatica and muscle spasms._

Jongdae frowns confusedly as his brain processes the first paragraph but he decides to move on and continue reading.

_Asters placed in a bouquet with complementing flowers to be given as a gift can be representative of admiration and love. People often present a single or dried flower to their friend or lover as a love charm, as asters were thought to hold the mystic power of drawing forth affection..._

Jongdae’s thoughts are racing a mile a minute piecing together the information that he's gathered on the flowers. He can't believe he didn't pick on Minseok's prompting that time back in the library, that Yixing's flowers to him weren't _just_ flowers. Jongdae's stupid, absolutely stupid.

Because, of course, Yixing would choose a particular meaning behind each of his flowers. Yixing had even once said to Jongdae that what, words aren't necessary if one's intent is pure, hadn't he? Jongdae had simply been too dense to pick up on the underlying message.

He stares blankly at the flowers because frankly, Jongdae's at a loss of what to do, following this revelation. Should he approach Yixing and talk over their feelings, potentially risking their friendship? Or should he simply pretend to be ignorant and sweep both their feelings under a rug?

His eyes glaze over in thought and he stays unmoving in his chair until early noon. Only when he's satisfied with his decision, that his mind and heart are in consensus, does he rise from his chair and makes his way out of the library. Once he's several steps away from the library entrance, Jongdae bursts into a sprint, ignoring the lactic acid rapidly building in his legs in favour of the pumping adrenaline that brings him closer to his destination.

-

It's a tranquil Saturday afternoon and Minseok is spending his free day practicing Quidditch drills. He does a quick scan of the pitch on his reliable Cleansweep before flying back to the middle, right above the area where the Quidditch balls are released for the start of a match. At the end of the pitch, Chanyeol is positioned at the set of goalposts, balancing himself comfortably on his Starsweeper XXI.

Minseok knows that Chanyeol has a tendency to get distracted easily and the fiery-haired boy is doing exactly that right now, weaving in and out of the goalposts for no apparent reason. Chanyeol should count his lucky stars that this is only a casual training session to increase his stamina, or Minseok would have reprimanded him. Oh, and the fact that he's Jongdae's best friend definitely helps as well.

Call it uncanny but moments after Minseok has that thought, Jongdae himself emerges from the castle, his distinguishable honey blond hair getting mussed up by the wind as his tiny figure practically shoots across the courtyard. It's almost as if Jongdae's a man on a mission. From his aerial view on the pitch, Minseok watches as Jongdae meanders through the mossy pathway connecting the greenhouses. The blond skips every single school greenhouse and stops only in front of the last greenhouse, a private one that Minseok has never entered before.

"Well, it's about time," Minseok mutters under his breath. "It took him long enough."

"Did you say something, Minseok-hyung?" Chanyeol yells, his voice more than enough to be heard across the halfway point. "I'm ready! Let's go! Let's start!"

Minseok only sighs; he's letting himself get too indulgent with the fifth-year. He brings his wand to his mouth, not needing to resort to shouting to broadcast his voice.

"Get back in position, Park. In a few seconds, I'm going to bewitch these quaffles again."

-

Jongdae’s aware he isn’t thinking straight, which is probably for the better. If he actually took the time to slow down his pace and his thoughts, a flurry of doubts would cloud his mind. But he can’t have that right now, not when he’s already decided on how he’s going to approach his feelings.

Heart thrumming wildly against his chest, Jongdae doesn’t bother knocking on the door and instead, he bursts into the greenhouse. The abrupt noise from the door jolts Yixing’s attention away from the pots that he had been arranging.

“Jongdae?” Yixing queries quizzically; he obviously hasn’t expect Jongdae’s visit in the slightest.

Jongdae slumps against the doorway of the greenhouse, the effects of his hasty actions finally overwhelming him all at once. Yixing stays rooted on the spot, unwilling to move when Jongdae doesn’t answer.

“Jongdae?” Yixing tries again, in spite of being slightly perturbed by the sheer tenacity in Jongdae’s bright, widened eyes. “Can I help you?”

If Jongdae didn’t need to catch his breath, he would have laughed. In this moment, he’s just so out of breath and just so smitten. He’s at a complete loss for words. Just imagine: him, Kim Jongdae, rendered speechless because he’s finally embraced how much he’s utterly enamoured of the sixth-year standing before him.

"Maybe you're right,” Jongdae is the first to speak up between both of them. “I don't need to use words all the time. I finally understand it now."

Yixing’s previously sleepy eyes comically widen in comprehension. Jongdae simply giggles and he runs over towards the Slytherin, who is completely unprepared to receive Jongdae’s embrace. The Hufflepuff ends up knocking him over, and Yixing can only manage to snake his arms around Jongdae’s slim waist as they both fall to the ground. Yixing groans when his back hits the soil, having absorbed the brunt of the impact and his chest heaves slightly over the pressure of Jongdae’s body on his own.

Jongdae’s giggles turn soft, and he presses his forehead to Yixing’s in an affectionate, intimate gesture. Yixing tightens his hold on Jongdae’s waist, causing the latter to squirm playfully as Yixing's fingers tickle his sides.

Once Jongdae has stopped shifting, he finds himself looking Yixing in the eyes once more. Yixing smiles, tilting his head to press his nose against Jongdae's. The space between them is so minute, that Jongdae is tickled by the warm puffs of air from Yixing's parted lips. His eyes focus on the plump lower lip and he's overcome by the want of feeling them against his own. He closes the gap between them, pressing his lips fleetingly to Yixing's.

"That was a **_'yes, I like you back_**', if that wasn't clear enough," Jongdae says once he pulls away.

Well, to be fair, Jongdae still needs time to get accustomed to a change in habit. Controlling his own mouth has never been his strong suit.

After sharing the briefest of kisses, Jongdae pulls himself away from Yixing, rueful over having knocked him to the ground in the first place. He helps the still-winded Slytherin back onto his feet and they make their way to the stone table.

The boldness of Jongdae's own actions start to register in his consciousness and his cheeks reflect his deep embarrassment, crimson-hued and gleaming like a pair of honeycrisps.

"I still can't believe it," Yixing admits. "I've never thought it would end up like this, between us." He gestures between the both of them.

"I know," Jongdae giggles; now that he looks back, it's actually pretty funny. "I always thought I hated you, or at least, everyone else thought I did."

"I never I hated you, Jongdae, but I knew I gave you plenty of reasons to dislike me. If I were you, I would think that I was a downright prick as well," Yixing says easily.

Jongdae crinkles his nose, recalling their first encounter with a mixture of awkwardness and distaste. "I remember thinking that you were so full of yourself. Ugh!"

Yixing can only laugh along in agreement; he totally deserved that. "I know, I know. I should have apologised to you after that night."

"Then why didn't you just do that, Yixing?"

"Well, would you have given me the time of day in the first place?" Yixing answers with a question of his own.

"...Probably not," Jongdae concedes, guilt prickling in his chest as he recalls being dismissive towards Yixing all this time in their early interactions.

Yixing laughs, before running a hand casually through his hair. "Like I said, I understand, I came off as a total asshole back then. But Han-ge convinced me that it was the only way I could stand out to you. And I believed him."

"How stupid." Jongdae pouts.

"I agree. I was stupid for listening to Han-ge's words about being an asshole to you."

"A fool."

"A fool for you, honey." Jongdae can't even get angry because Yixing's dimple makes its famed appearance.

"Stop it, Zhang!"

-

Jongdae whines as Yixing licks into his mouth, drawing out his breath with every languid lick of his tongue.

Yixing nudges aside Jongdae's collar with his nose, before planting his lips against the heated skin. He nips at the exposed clavicle, drinking in the rumbles of moans that escape Jongdae's lips.

"You better not be leaving me a hickey or Discipline Mistress Kwon will have my head when I hand in my prefectorial report tonight," Jongdae says reproachfully, but it's hard to sound fierce when Yixing's tongue is licking up a slow, warm column from the base of his neck.

"I mean it, Zhang Yixing."

Yixing doesn't respond, not verbally at least. Instead, he brings his lips to Jongdae's ear and laps at the earlobe with careful, rapt attention. Jongdae swears he's going to lose it.

Jongdae has no hickies (oh, _thank Merlin_), and the only thing that gives him away are his pink speckled cheeks.

It's two months into their relationship and Jongdae is spending more time with Yixing in the greenhouse. Their weekly tutoring sessions have evolved into thrice-a-week study sessions. Jongdae uses the term 'study sessions' very loosely because they mainly consist of Jongdae studying by himself while Yixing looks through his personal herbology notes...and the last fifteen minutes ultimately lead to them in each other's embrace.

Jongdae has to make his way back to the castle for his Arithmancy class while Yixing stays in the greenhouse, using his free period to continue his work. He packs his books and writing instruments into his bag and stands up from his place next to Yixing.

"I'll see you at the Great Hall?"

Jongdae smoothens the wrinkles in his sweater, ensuring that he looks presentable. Well, actually, it's Yixing's sweater; Jongdae had borrowed it on one particularly chilly morning at the greenhouse and Yixing hasn't bothered to ask for it back, so it's totally Jongdae's now.

"Most certainly."

Yixing smiles and his dimple makes another appearance. Jongdae feels his cheeks warming up when Yixing grabs hold of his right hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing the pads of fingertips peeking from under the sweater sleeves.

"Ughhh," Jongdae whines playfully at Yixing's sappiness; he's just too, too much for Jongdae sometimes. "How did I end up liking a fool like you again, Zhang?"

"I thought that you already knew I was a fool for you..._honey_?"

"Zhang Yixing, you stop that right now!"

**Author's Note:**

> I've always had this fic idea languishing in my notes - only that Yixing is a mild-mannered Hufflepuff whilst Jongdae is a witty and individualistic Ravenclaw. But dear prompter, I admit that your idea of an ambitious Slytherin!Yixing falling for the single-hearted Hufflepuff!Jongdae and vice-versa was too hard to resist!
> 
> It's my first fic in the EXO fandom so I humbly apologise if my fic comes across as lacking. I hope that readers, especially you, dear prompter, would be able to enjoy this fic, regardless! ^^
> 
> This fic is only from Jongdae's point-of-view; I actually have bits and pieces of writing from Yixing's side as well. If I pull through and end up finish writing it (which I pray I do), I hope it would give a better insight into Yixing and Jongdae's dynamics!


End file.
